Citizen investor survey summary

Over the past 30 years, relationships between councils and communities have become more distant. Many people feel more like consumers of their council services than active stakeholders in their place.

Our municipal investments are turning that dial back, by enabling councils and citizens to connect in meaningful partnership to build a thriving future for the places they care about.

The findings of our latest citizen investor reveal for the first time the deeper connection these investments create, and how they can have a powerful effect on how people see their councils, and their own role in the future of their place.

“When we created municipal investments in 2020, we were trying to create a model of investment that worked for both councils and the communities they serve. Six years on, we are delighted to see that it is really starting to deliver. We have seen that councils are able to save money on their borrowing costs and also deepen their relationships with the people who care about their place, all while offering an investment that is competitive and genuinely valuable for millions of savers.”

Karl Harder, Co-founder and Joint Managing Director, Abundance Investment

Building mutual trust with citizens

Mutual trust between citizens and their councils is an essential ingredient for effective local government. In recent years, research suggests that this trust has started to waver, and evidence from the Office for National Statistics shows that higher levels of transparency and communication are associated with greater public trust and support.

“I’ve actually stood in places where the work has been done and thought: my money helped make this happen. That’s a really good feeling.”

Citizens find the municipal investment model highly engaging because it results in real-world delivery, rather than relying on abstract claims or ambitious vision statements.

“[I invested because I am] funding initiatives that mean something to me in a place that means something to me.”

Showing partnership and broadening participation

The survey suggests that municipal investments can create a sense of collaboration between councils and citizens.

“I value the opportunity to help improve the places and make them healthier and more sustainable.”

Because many local projects, like infrastructure updates, are long term by nature, they can feel obscure and opaque to residents. Yet these fundamentally shape the future of our places. A citizen investment programme gives people a direct and accessible way to engage with that future.

“I’ve always thought councils have the potential to show leadership in green and social initiatives - I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to support them financially.”

Broadening engagement with local government

Encouragingly, municipal investments appear to increase interest in local government. At a time when public understanding of the role of local government is low, it is vital to find ways to improve the conversation between citizens and councils.

“Local councils do much more than just empty the bins and fill the pot holes - investing is a way to show you support the long term investment that is needed for any community to thrive.”

Municipal investments offer a tangible way to deepen that relationship by creating a genuine long-term partnership with citizens who share councils’ desire to create a thriving future for their places.

By investing and becoming stakeholders in the future of their places, there is a real opportunity for residents and councils to start a long term conversation, improving both understanding and engagement.

Our key takeaways from our citizen investor research

After six years offering municipal investments, we have seen just how powerful they can be as a way of connecting people with the places they care about.

We are already starting to see clear evidence that becoming an investor is changing how people feel about the councils they invest in, creating stronger relationships with local government.

The research also suggests that for councils, citizen investments can be more than simply an alternative borrowing source. They have the potential to build long-term partnerships between councils and their communities, where more people are invested in the future.

This research certainly points to offering a citizen investment as being more than simply an alternative borrowing source for councils; it has the potential to transform the relationship between councils and the communities they serve into a long term partnership where more people are truly invested in the future.

This is just the beginning for municipal lending, but we are excited to see what the future holds as more councils join the nineteen who have offered investments so far.